You could see Jesus' life as a struggle against sickness and death. He was a healer, and reached out to cure the pains that disabled people. He wanted them to forget about their bodies and feel fit to serve, like Simon Peter's mother-in-law, whom Jesus cured of a fever. Once her temperature dropped, she got up and made the tea. I have known people who would feel a headache coming on and would ‘offer up' the pain and continue talking about it. That is not the Christian way: better to take some medicine, forget about the headache and get on with the job. I knew an Ethiopian who had a sore shoulder and was urged to go to a doctor. Knowing the sort of medical care he might receive, he said, ‘Now I am a healthy man with a sore shoulder. If I go to a doctor I will be a sick man with a sore shoulder. No thank you.'Pain and sickness are obviously bad, something to be fought and resisted. Yet the Lord touches us through them. A time comes when we can no longer feel God's touch in prayer, but we sense how God is shaping us through our suffering. It is remarkable how many people find the grace to seek whatever help medicine can offer, and then to accept the remaining pain as the background of a peaceful existence - and without talking about it. Sacred Space, 9/17/2008

USA won Gold in wheelchair rugby!!! (See photo of wheelchair rugby team USA). Closing ceremony this AM. See final results below. Haley thinks it is weird that I'm so interested in the Paralympics now that I'm disabled. I wonder why too. Maybe part of the acceptance process. Perhaps identification or the possibility that life continues afterward, including ideas for physical activity that might be within grasp

Just had a bizarre thought...these games are named para (paralysis, paraplegia) lymp (limp??? LOL ;-)) ics. Wonder where the name came from? Probably from paraplegia and olympics - reflecting post war injured that were the first competitors in 1948.

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PARALYMPICS FINAL MEDAL UPDATE:
1 CHINA 89 GOLD 70 SILVER 52 BRONZE 211 TOTAL
2 GREAT BRITAIN 42 GOLD 29 SILVER 31 BRONZE 102 TOTAL
3 USA 36 GOLD 35 SILVER 28 BRONZE 99 TOTAL
4 AUSTRALIA 23 GOLD 29 SILVER 27 BRONZE 79 TOTAL
5 UKRAINE 24 GOLD 18 SILVER 32 BRONZE 74 TOTAL